travel systems- too much choice

[relax]

which one??? we have been looking at mutsy, quinny and i- candy does anyone have any of these? what are the good and bad points. there are too many to choose from which do we choose

thanks

I found the Which? Consumer Guide to Baby Products absolutely invaluable - not just for travel systems but for the whole push-chair issue. It listed 10 questions for you to think about, that narrows things down a fair bit. Shout if you want me to type 'em up for you.

Everything I've seen (there, and on various MN threads) suggests the #1 issue is what carseat best fits your car. Also have a look at the MN product guides?

DO NOT BUY A TRAVEL SYSTEM!

ARRRRRRRRGH

find a car seat whihc fits your car correctly. then find a buggy which suits your needs.

Do you need a traval system (ie one where the carseat fits on the chassis) or will a pram / pushchair be more suitable?

What's your lifestyle like?
Do you mostly walk (large comfy pram)?
drive (one that fits easily in the boot)?
take the bus (one that folds with one hadn while you hold the baby?)?

Do you live somehwere rural where you need air tyres to get down footpaths or somehwere urban where manouevrability is more important?

Do you have oodles of space at home to store it or will it need to squeeze in the cupboard under the stairs?

Will you be using it for long periods (ie leaving child to sleep in it?)

Do you want it to last till he's 4 or are you happy to buy another one later?

What's your budget?

(My personal bias is that there's no one pram that does it all and your best bet is to buy
a) a safe car seat that fits your car properly

and

b) a comfy lie-flat pram with room for shopping that's easy to push
c) an umbrella stroller you can use from 6mo that you can sling in the boot / take on holiday / will last till he's 4

or

b) a from-birth umbrella stroller if you do less walking or drive everywhere)

no one EVER EVER needs one

ok

buy a Maxi cosi baby car seat
A Maclaren techo stroller
a three-wheeler for country walks doncha know
a sling
and a backpack

I agree with Misdee and MrsB. Is v important that the car seat is suitable for your car or cars if you are going to use it in more than one car. Then you can get a separate pram/pushchair that suits your needs. I personally didn't want to use the car seat as a pushchair as I felt it important for my LO to lie flat when he was young.

As the others have said, there is so much to consider depending on your lifestyle. Its good to talk to people who are actually using the thing to get an idea of how it works in practice.

oh yes, am with Enid but I'm not so rural so would get a trad pram with shopping basket that turns into a pushchair later rather than the 3wheeler.

oh yes lovely

I alwasy coveted one but they are not good on rutted, muddy lanes

whereas i prefer emmaljunga over silvercross

there is way too much choice in the whole baby conveyance field.

I would like someone to take my credit card, buy me something and have it delivered!

i'll do that for cealos

I've got an i candy already had the mexi cosi car seat
I intend to use the carseat with the chassis just for running dd into pre school, rather than fannyign around getting newborn in and out of carseat into slings while also coordinating a seriously visually impaired dd...
I'm not a fna of babies sat in carseats
And will kick big pram to the kerb as soon as baby is strong enough to whip into normal lighter buggy.
I candy is heavy to get int and out of boot but is easy to use and user friendly and nice to push

DP chose it, gadgets being his thing...
Well seeing as I'm going to break his heart over the name issue, it was my one concession...

Pram of the week is the Quinny Freestyle after seeing a mum at nursery with one.

I'll be researching a different one each week for the next 20 I think!

Ceolas, answer the questions below, and for a small consideration (hem hem) I'll provide the perfect solution (which may or may not be a Silver Cross / E3 , a Techno and a Maxi Cosi)

Maxi Cosi is a given.

Not sure the Techno is necessary for the chucking in the car purpose. Wouldn't a Quest or Triumph do?

Silver Cross I looked at in the shop squeaked, which put me off slightly.

Sorry for jumping on your thread, relax, but here are my responses, MrsB:

What's your lifestyle like?
Do you mostly walk (large comfy pram)?
drive (one that fits easily in the boot)? Sort of mixture. Walk to and from school every day. Sometimes to local shops, sometimesdrive to out of town shopping centre. Drive to and from older children's activities, eg dancing.

take the bus (one that folds with one hadn while you hold the baby?)? Thankfully, never.

Do you live somehwere rural where you need air tyres to get down footpaths or somehwere urban where manouevrability is more important? Urban but like the occasional rural walk. Prob no more than once a month.

Do you have oodles of space at home to store it or will it need to squeeze in the cupboard under the stairs? Cupboard under stairs but quite big.

Will you be using it for long periods (ie leaving child to sleep in it?) No

Do you want it to last till he's 4 or are you happy to buy another one later? Happy with a foldy-uppy for later.

What's your budget? About £5-600

[puts thinking hat on]

see if Misdee and I come up with the same thing...

hmmm.

how imprtant is rear-facing to you? and how big is your car boot?

techno lays flat from birth though

and nippy enough for recalcitrant 4 year olds

if rear facing isnt an issue, then i would suggest mountian buggy urban maybe?

Well...

Car boot is an issue. I have a Zafira. Will need one of the back seats up so still a reasonable amount of space.

Rear facing is vital. FiL is dead set against new fangled modern buggies as babies need to face parents. It is imperative I please him on this as he lives very close and loves taking babies for walks. How will I get a shower otherwise with 4 children?

hmmm a bugaboo will fit in that gap. is rear facing.

See budget below, misdee

I have considered it...

there are hauck bugaboo rip off thingies on ebay

my mate got a really good one about £190 IIRC

thanks for all your messages.
i am thinking that a i will definately want a rear facing pram / pushchair for mostly popping to the shops. i don't relly use busses so traveling in the car needs to be an option aswell. we live on the outskirts of a large city so there is not to much all-terrain walking
space in the car would not be an issue but i suppose the lighter it is the better for lifting in and out of the car etc.
the quinny travel system looked nice but the amount of head room didn't look much ( think we will be having a long/ tall baby it may not last as long as it should) .
does anyone have the maxi cosi car seat , is it easy to use???